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SHORT STORIES FORM 4 : QWERTYUIOP - Literary Analysis

SHORT STORIES FORM 4 : QWERTYUIOP - Literary Analysis

SYNOPSIS:
This story is about a young graduate named Lucy Beck who has justfinished her ‘O’ levels at Belmont Secretarial College. Being a slow learner herself, she has noconfidence that she will find a job. Fortunately, she is offered a job by Mr. Ross, the Manager ofRoss and Bannister’s. During her first day, she encounters many peculiar incidents. Later, shefinds out that there is a spirit lingering around the office who is adamant in holding on to herposition as the company’s secretary. Towards the end of the story, Lucy tries to get rid of thespirit that has been haunting that place for many years by putting the spirit at peace.




SETTING:
The story revolves around two main settings: 
-Lucy’s house which she shares with her motherand her Uncle Bert.
-The office of Ross and Bannister’s where Lucy works as a secretary.

 1) Lucy Beck :
She is a young, shy and insecure graduate of secreterial studies. She is dissatisfied with her current life and is determined to improve it. She obtains a position with Ross and Bannister’s, only to find that the position comes with a chilling secret.

  







2) Ghost of Ms. Broome : 
She was the previous employee of Ross and Bannister’s. She is unwilling to let go of her position and continues to defend her post, even after her demise.


3) Lucy’s mother : 
A housewife who lives a hard life. She has to support her brother.


4) Uncle Bert : 
Depends on his sister for support. He is also a drunkard.

 5) Harry Darke : 
Ross and Bannister’s handyman. He is an old man who has been working with the company for years.


6) Mr. Ross : 
The younger partner of the company.


THEMES:


1) DETERMINATION:
Despite the supernatural nature by which Ms. Broome badgers and demoralises Lucy, sheshows no signs of giving in to her demand. Instead, she is steadfast in defending her position asthe secretary.


2) POSSESSIVENESS:
Not even death could part Ms. Broome from what she feels is rightfully hers. She continues tohaunt the office through her electronic typewriter. 


3) LOYALTY:
As with her possesiveness towards her job, Ms. Broome was also extremely loyal towards Mr.Bannister. Even after she passed on, her spirit continued in its endeavour to serve her employer.


4) LONELINESS:
Loneliness can be a strong influence in a person’s life. Ms. Broome had no life outside of heroffice. That made her more possesive of her position in the company; a possesiveness thatwent beyond the grave.


5) COMMITMENT:
This attribute can be clearly seen in both Lucy and Ms. Broome. Both are extremely committedto their profession.


6) THE SUPERNATURAL:
It is interesting that such an integral character in the story happens to be an ethereal entity. Yet this theme is rather prominent in the story.


7) COMPASSION:
This theme holds water especially in the final confrontation between Lucy and Ms. Broome. It isnot through hatred nor coercion that Lucy manages to outsmart Ms. Broome, rather, it wasthrough compassion and understanding of Ms. Broome’s intentions.

 

THE CHARACTER OF THE FRUITCAKE SPECIAL

CHARACTERS

"A character in a literary work can be a person, an animal, a non-entity or even a supernatural being. The number of persons in a short story is usually small. The personality traits of the important characters, their appearance, actions and ideas are usually portrayed"

MAIN CHARACTER

 

ANNA

Anna works as a chemist in the Amos Cosmetics factory in New Jersey. Her job is to design new perfumes. Anna is single and lives with her mother. Her mother and Aunt Mimi are worried she is not getting married. Anna is very aware of what goes on around her and quite a discerning character. She knows that David Amos is not possibly in love with her nor is the waiter at the restaurant. She recognizes that it is the result of the powerful perfume she has created.

 

 

~DAVID AMOS~

An important minor character is David Amos. He is the owner of Amos Cosmetics. David Amos is a dark, handsome and fashionable gentleman who is often seen with beautiful women. He appears polite but he actually  does not think much of his workers.

 

 

~AUNT MIMI~

Aunt Mimi, is pleasant but she also likes to mind other people's business. She is constantly trying to find a suitable partner for her niece. She gives some fruitcake to Anna.

 

 

~SABINA~

A beautiful young model who is David Amos' girlfriend. She looks down on Anna and is furious when David professes his love for an ordinary and plain-looking girl like Anna. David and her offer compensation to Anna in the form of money to forget the whole incident at the French Restaurant.

 

~ARMSTRONG~

He is the pizza delivery boy. He provides the perfect contrast to David Amos. Armstrong, through effort and determination, grows from a mere pizza delivery man to become the owner of the pizza company. He wants to make a success of himself before he declares his love for Anna.

 

~ANNA'S MOTHER~

Anna's mother is naturally anxious that her daughter is still single. Right from the beginning, she believes that Armstrong, the pizza delivery man, would make a good husband for Anna. Thus turns out to be right, at the end.

 

 

~WAITER~

He works in a French Restaurant. He adds humour and comedy to the story by the way he behaves towards Anna when under the spell of the fruitcake perfume.

 

 OLD WOMAN~

She used to sell fruitcake in the market. Nobody knows much about her except for Aunt Mimi. She had seven husbands who ate her magical fruitcakes. She seemed to have been able to read people's mind and had offered the cake to Aunt Mimi for her niece. She dies early in the story.

 

 

 

LITERATURE - SHORT STORY (FORM 4)

THE FRUITCAKE SPECIAL

 
SYNOPSIS

The Fruitcake Special is the  story if the effects of a perfume on men. It was accidentally created by Anna, a chemist. When Mr Amos gets a whiff of the perfume he feels he is in love with Anna and so invites her out for dinner. He does not behave like a man in love and Anna is surprised and upset. When she wears the Fruitcake perfume again, Mr Amos and a waiter become enticed and both make declarations of love to her. The situation become chaotic when a fight ensues between two men.

THEMES

• Illusion vs Reality
• Be realistic in life
• Appearances can be misleading

MORAL VALUES

• We should not be taken in flattery.
• We must not be too proud of our looks.
• We must not belittle other people.

PLOT

• EXPOSITION – Anna creates a Fruitcake perfume and dabs on it. Mr Amos becomes intoxicated with her when he gets a whiff of it. Anna is very surprise with this sudden interest.
• CONFLICT – During dinner, Mr Amos is not as attentive as he was in the morning. Anna dabs on the Fruitcake perfume in the ladies room.
• CLIMAX – Mr Amos becomes enamoured and makes declarations of love to her. A waiter also makes love declarations to her. A fight starts between Mr Amos, the waiter and Sabrina, Mr Amos’ girlfriend. Anna realises it is the effects of the fruitcake perfume.
• FALLING ACTION – Anna wants to find the ‘special something’ in the fruitcake but is unable to.
• RESOLUTION – Anna resigns from Amos Cosmetics and she settles for the pizza delivery man, Armstrong, who has his own pizza company.

CHARACTERS

• Main characters

1. Anna, the narrator
2. David Amos, owner of Amos Cosmetics

• Minor characters

1. Narrator’s mother
2. Narrator’s Aunt Mimi
3. Waiter at restaurant
4. Sabina, David Amos’ girlfriend
5. Armstrong, the pizza delivery man

POINT OF VIEW

• First person point of view

TONE, MOOD, ATMOSPHERE

• Light-hearted and humorous
• Comedic and entertaining

LANGUAGE AND STYLE

• Simple and easy to understand the language